


It Shouldn't Be Difficult, to Explain

by idra



Series: The Method of Human Communication [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: A Bit of Fluff, Little bit of angst, M/M, slight PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 03:16:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11523402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idra/pseuds/idra
Summary: Steve goes to Shield after a bad assignment with the Avengers and talks with Bucky.





	It Shouldn't Be Difficult, to Explain

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm only sixteen days late posting this. *headdesk* And I haven't even started on my July fic. Oh well. I will get it done, I swear.

Bucky looks up when Steve enters the training room and he raises an eyebrow. He may not remember everything about growing up with Steve, but he recognizes that expression on Steve’s face. That’s Steve’s “I’m gonna beat this shit outta something whether I get my ass kicked or not” look. So Bucky gets to his feet and moves to stand in front of Steve. It’s the least he can do for a man who has so much faith in him that he nearly cost himself everything, just to save Bucky’s life. “Move, Buck.” 

“Gotta go through me, Stevie.” Bucky smirks, cocking an eyebrow in a way he knows will piss Steve off. 

“Get out of my way, Bucky,” Steve says, shoving at him. 

“Nope. I know you, Steve. You need to fight, fight me.” Bucky pushes Steve back, his own snarl curling his lips. Steve throws a punch then, and Bucky just barely moves back out of the way. “Come on, Stevie, you can do better than that,” Bucky says, ducking as Steve swings again. He reaches out and smacks Steve lightly. “Come on. You still ninety pounds soakin’ wet or what?” 

Steve growls and attacks and all Bucky can do at that point is defend himself and hold on. Finally, after what feels like hours, Steve slows and then just sinks to the floor, head in his hands. Bucky sinks down with him, scooting close enough to wrap a hand around his ankle. “Stevie, talk to me.” 

“Did I hurt you?” 

Bucky snorts, old bravado coming from nowhere. “Please, I can still kick your ass if I wanted to.” 

Steve snorts in return. “I give as good as I get nowadays, Buck.” 

“You always did.” Bucky smiles when Steve looks up and glares. “You did. You just have more muscle behind your punches now.” 

Steve shakes his head. “You’re an idiot. Why’d you pick a fight with me?” 

“Because you had that “I’m kicking something’s ass” look on your face, and I figured better with someone who can fight back, rather than one of those poor punching bags. How many of those you figure you’ve destroyed?” 

“More than I should’ve,” Steve mumbles, sighing. “We were in Wales, fighting an alien.” He shakes his head at that. “Still can’t believe that comes out of my mouth and is a real fact.”

“Go on.”

“The alien had captured this young boy-- six or seven, I think. We tried to keep him safe. We tried, Buck, really. But when we got the kid back... The alien had done something to him. He was gone.” Steve closes his eyes and pulls his knees towards his chest. “He was just a baby, Bucky, and he’s gone and we had to tell his mother...” Steve trails off, breath hitching. 

Bucky wraps an arm around Steve’s shoulders, glancing up as Tony moves into the doorway of the room. Tony lets out a little sigh of relief and nods, waving at Bucky. He mouths, _You got him?_ to which Bucky replies with a nod of his own. Tony walks away and Bucky rubs Steve’s back. “It’s not your fault, Stevie. You did what you could. You couldn’t have predicted that some alien was going to kidnap a kid and kill him.” 

“But we could’ve done something, Buck, we should’ve done something!” 

“Do one of the Avengers suddenly have psychic powers? Able to predict the future?” 

“You know we don’t, Buck.” 

“Then how could you have done anything more than what you did? Yeah, it sucks that a kid was killed, but--“

“He wasn’t killed.” Steve looks up at Bucky, eyes haunted. “He was still alive, but he was... his heart was beating and his lungs breathed, but he was gone. There was nothing there.” 

Bucky frowns and licks his lips. “I don’t...” 

“I don’t understand either, but that’s how it was. His body was there but whatever made him him was gone.” Steve covers his face with his hands and fights back a sob. “Bucky, I don’t know if I can do this.” 

“You can, because you’d never forgive yourself if you didn’t and something worse happened.”

Steve frowns at him, hating that Bucky is able to read him so well. “I hate you.” 

Bucky laughs at that. “Yeah, of course you do. That’s why you’re here, at Shield, instead of at the Tower with your family. You came to Shield to... what? Destroy their heavy bags, instead of your boyfriend’s?” 

“I hate you now.” 

“Uh huh.” Bucky reaches out and fluff’s Steve’s hair. “I’m sorry you had a bad day. Did kicking the shit outta me help?” 

“Little bit,” Steve mumbles, looking up and smiling a little. “You okay?” 

“I’ll survive.” Bucky shrugs. “Hey, this is a first.” 

“What is?” 

“You didn’t ask me how I was doing.” Bucky grins at him. “For once, you were actually more worried about you for a change. I like that change, just so you know.”

Steve scowls. “How are you doing? You seem pretty... normal.” 

“I’m always normal, you’re the one who’s a weirdo.” Bucky grins at him. 

Steve rolls his eyes and leans back a little. “Come on, Buck, you know what I mean.” 

“I do.” Bucky shrugs. “It’s been a good day. Even fighting you, I didn’t feel like I was ever losing control. Being here at Shield has been good for me.” Bucky grins and Steve is astonished at how much he looks like the old Bucky. “Melinda has been very good for me.” 

“Melinda? Agent May?” Steve wrinkles his nose. “She’s lowering herself to hook up with you?” 

“Stark is lowering himself to hook up with you.” Bucky grins when Steve flips him off. “Okay, so no, he’s not. You’re too good for him, but... as long as he’s good to you, it’s all good.” When Steve stares at him, obviously impatient, Bucky laughs. “Yeah. We’ve had a few... tussles.” 

“Is it... I mean...” 

“It’s different from the dames I took out back in the day. First of all, the one and only time I called Melinda a dame, she kicked my ass.” Bucky smirks. “That was our first tussle. Second, the dames back then didn’t put out. At least not the ones you didn’t pay. And, she’s different. Most of the dames I asked out were all fluttery and jerks to you and... Melinda’s not like that. I mean, she is definitely all woman, but she’s not...” Bucky shrugs again. “I don’t know. She’s not like most dames.” 

Steve smirks and scoots back a little. “I bet she’s not like most women.” 

Bucky’s face falls and he closes his eyes. “She’s behind me, isn’t she?” 

“Yep.”

“She’s gonna kill me, isn’t she?” he asks, turning to smile what he hopes is his most charming smile at Melinda. “Hey.” 

“You’re lucky the Captain is here, or I would kill you.” She kicks him in the ass. “I was just coming in to ask the Captain if he’s staying for dinner. Stark is here, talking with FitzSimmons about this asshole’s arm, and he said if you said yes, you were both staying.” 

Steve smiles a little and nods. “We’ll stay.” He pushes up to his feet and helps Bucky to his. “Thanks, Agent May.” 

“Call me Melinda.” May smiles at Steve and nods. “The asshole knows where the dining room is. I’ll see you there.” 

Bucky pouts. “Lookit what you made me do, Stevie! Now I’m gonna get my ass kicked before I ever get any again.” 

“Haven’t you learned yet not to call women dames? Especially after she had already kicked your ass once for doing it?” 

“I thought it was just you and me. I didn’t know she’d walk in while I was talking. What am I gonna do?” 

“I don’t know, Buck. We’ll talk to Tony. He’s the one who knows about women.” Steve shrugs. “Or maybe you could ask Tasha or Daisy? One of the might be better than Tony, considering what I’ve been told about his past with women. He apparently doesn’t really know how to talk to women very well.” Steve shrugs again and smiles at Bucky. “Let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Bucky says as they head through the halls to the dining room.

“Can’t help it. I’ve got a bigger metabolism now.” 

“Lookit you with your fancy words,” Bucky says, ducking when Steve takes a swing at him. 

Steve growls and bumps Bucky with his shoulder, sending his friend crashing into the wall. He laughed and hopped away when Bucky growled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.” He ducks when Bucky throws a punch and runs down the hallway, Bucky in pursuit. When Bucky catches up to Steve, he tackles him and they both go rolling into a room. At the sudden silence in the room, Bucky and Steve both look up. Steve smiles sheepishly when he sees Tony looking at him from one of the tables. “Uh. Hi.” He pushes Bucky off of him and climbs to his feet. “Sorry.” He tugs Bucky up as well, nudging Bucky with his elbow. “Sorry.” He moves over to Tony and sits next to him. “Hi. Did you have a good time with FitzSimmons?” 

“Yes. Did you get it out of your system?” 

Steve nods, moving closer to Tony and hugging him. “I’m sorry. I just... I couldn’t stay. I had to get out.” 

“I get it. That’s why I ended up here doing science with Fitz and Simmons. We almost have the prototype perfected for Bucky’s arm.” Tony leans in, kissing Steve’s cheek. “I do get it, Steve. I think everyone needed their space from each other. That’s why I didn’t follow you when you came here. Well, I guess I did, but I didn’t follow you intentionally.”

“It’s okay. It would’ve been okay if you’d followed me intentionally.” Steve kisses Tony, letting out a little sigh and resting his head against Tony’s. “After dinner, can we go home and just sleep for a while?” 

“As long as you want,” Tony replies, leaning into Steve’s touch.


End file.
